James Oates (born 19 March 1991) is an Australian professional soccer player who plays as a defender.

Career

Early career

Oates began his career with

Manly United Manly United Football Club is an Australian football club based in the northern beaches area of Sydney. The club competes in the National Premier Leagues NSW and their home ground is Cromer Park, in the suburb of Dee Why, approximately 15 minu ...

, before signing for the

Central Coast Mariners Central Coast Mariners Football Club is an Australian professional association football, soccer club based in Gosford, on the Central Coast (New South Wales), Central Coast of New South Wales. It competes in the A-League, A-League Men, under ...

youth team in 2010. He joined up with the side for the 2010–11 pre-season, making his debut against Riverina U23s – coming on as a substitute and scoring a goal. Oates impressed during his first season, and was handed a trial with

League One The English Football League One (often referred to as League One for short or Sky Bet League One for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League One from 2004 until 2016) is the second-highest division of the English Football Leag ...

side

Sheffield United Sheffield United Football Club is a professional football club in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, which compete in the . They are nicknamed "the Blades" due to Sheffield's history of cutlery production. The team have played home games at ...

, but returned to Central Coast Mariners for the start of the 2011–12. In his second season with the Mariners, Oates captained the side to glory in the National Youth League, earning himself a one-year professional contract with the senior

side for their 2012–13 campaign. An ankle injury sustained during pre-season meant he was unable to break into the first team and, following further setbacks, Oates was released from his contract early. After his release from Central Coast Mariners, Oates returned to Manly United. A teammate of his persuaded him to apply to

Hartpury College Hartpury University and Hartpury College, formerly Hartpury College, is a provider of further and higher education which describes itself as specialising in the "agriculture, animal, equine, sport and veterinary nursing" sectors. The university a ...

, England, to study, play football, and see a world outside of Australia.

Hereford

In 2015, Oates signed for the newly-formed Hereford, a phoenix club setup by fans following the demise of

Hereford United Hereford United Football Club was an association football club based in Hereford, England. They played at Edgar Street for their entire history. They were nicknamed 'The Whites' or 'The Lilywhites', after their predominantly white kit, or 'Th ...

. Following a successful first season, in which the Australian played 41 times for the club as they won the

Midland Football League The Midland Football League is an English football league that was founded in 2014 by the merger of the former Midland Alliance and Midland Combination. The league has four divisions that sit at levels 9–12 of the football pyramid. History T ...

Premier Division title and reached the final of the FA Vase, Oates signed on with Hereford for the 2016–17 season. Oates was named captain for the 2017–18 season. He signed a new deal with Hereford ahead of the 2018–19 season. During his 3 seasons with Hereford, Oates made 136 appearances in all competitions.

Exeter City

On 24 July 2018, following a trial period, Oates was formally announced as an

Exeter City Exeter City Football Club is a professional association football club based in Exeter, Devon, England. The team play in , the third tier of the English football league system. Known as "the Grecians", the origin of their nickname is subject to ...

player. Oates had previously worked alongside his new manager, Matt Taylor, while studying at Hartpury College. He made his debut for the club in a 0–2 defeat away to Fulham in the EFL Cup. On 24 January 2019, Oates rejoined Hereford on loan until the end of the 2018–19 season. On 12 March 2019, Oates was re-called from Hereford with immediate effect, due to a number of injuries in Exeter City's squad. He was released by Exeter at the end of the 2018–19 season.

Return to Manly

Oates returned to Manly United in the 2020 National Premier Leagues season.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Oates, Jimmy 1991 births Living people Soccer players from Sydney Australian soccer players Association football defenders Manly United FC players Central Coast Mariners Academy players Central Coast Mariners FC players Hereford F.C. players Exeter City F.C. players English Football League players Australian expatriate soccer players Australian expatriate sportspeople in England Expatriate footballers in England